Nyara Sabally surprises with a strong performance at the Basketball World Cup

From shaky candidate to leading player: Nyara Sabally surprised both the national coach and her club coach at the Basketball World Cup. Olaf Lange, who holds both positions at the same time, was surprised at how much and how well the 26-year-old has played so far at the home World Cup in Berlin.

“I was very surprised at how well and how long Nyara was able to play,” said Lange after the important 74:58 in the second preliminary round game against Japan, in which the younger of the two Sabally sisters was on the floor for almost 22 minutes and was the second-best German thrower with 18 points.

Long anxiety

Sabally's involvement was questionable until shortly before the start of the World Cup. Due to calf problems, she had not played a game for her WNBA club Toronto Tempo since August 12th. Before that, she repeatedly struggled with knee problems.

“I coached her in Toronto this season and she hasn’t played two games in two days yet. That wasn't possible because of her knee," said Lange about Sabally, who played in both German games at the World Cup.

Berlin as a factor

“I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that it’s in Berlin. She has her family here and that’s another special situation,” said the national coach. Lange left it open whether Sabally would be able to play again in the decisive group game against Mali on Monday. “We now have to see how it presents itself tomorrow and on Monday,” said Lange. “I want to keep her expectations somewhat limited.”